Ryan Wilcox

Ryan Wilcox

Hartford, CT, USA, United States

Member since October 3, 2011

Ryan has over 12 years of programming experience and extensive knowledge of Ruby on Rails, iOS/Cocoa, JavaScript, C++ (STL, Boost, wxWidgets), Python, SQL, VisualBasic, and 12 additional languages. He is an expert in workflow analysis, optimization, and technical writing.

...app I've ever built is the Automated Instagram Printer, which automatically downloads images identified by a certain tag and prints them at a kiosk.

Employment

Developer

Fanzter

2013 - PRESENT

Developed a social/fashion iOS app backed by Node.js (CoffeeScript).

Formulated and implemented an error/exception reporting/rescuing strategy for the Node.js app.

Maintained a large Rails 2.3 codebase that had been previously upgraded from Rails 1.2.3.

Assisted with future product direction and design.

Handled data migration and synchronization work between two related products.

Technologies: CoffeeScript, Ruby, Objective-C

Lead Developer

Wilcox Development Solutions

2002 - PRESENT

Contributed to versions 1.2, 2.0, 2.0.0.1, and 2.0.1 of the W.E.L.D.E.R iPhone/iPad/Mac OS X game. The game was featured on Apple's New and Noteworthy section of the App Store starting June 21, 2012. The Mac OS X version was an Editor's Choice pick and rose to #8 on the Top Paid apps list (#2 in the Game category) around July 1, 2012.

Designed the automated Instagram printer kiosk used during Coachella 2012 (H&M's #kissforacause campaign).

Worked as project manager and Ruby developer during the development of a Ruby on Rails/Spree eCommerce-based telephony site that made the front page of www.slashdot.org (December 6, 2011) and was featured on Ars Technica (Dec 27) (http://www.reverserobocall.com).

Worked on a pocket streaming radio publishing iOS app with heavy ties to the Facebook and Spotify APIs.

Worked on Promiflash.de iPhone and Android apps for mobile news consumption with push notifications. On launch day, the Android app went to #1 in the News category for the German marketplace.

Created a web and QuickBase-based application for the Washington, D.C. Public School Special Education Department to manage massive special education complaint/case loads. Later developed a Ruby on Rails version of the same system.

Developed Ruby on Rails Large (26,000+ LOC) C.S.R for Wreal TV (http://www.wreal.tv/), including integration with UPS logistic services.

Worked as a Dancing with the Stars (2007) Production Supervisor, designing a Python application to read from a USB timecode device vCal parsing library (2,100 lines of Python + 6,300 lines of unit tests).

Created various desktop applications using PyObjC, including one application consisting of over 3,000 lines of code.

Worked for QSAToolworks.com porting one of the original Mac apps (created circa 1983) to Mac OS X with C++ and the wxWidgets framework.

Authored a whitepaper on Node.js best practices (http://www.wilcoxd.com/whitepapers/node_js/).

Worked on an OS X app with heavy design elements and hardware interactions that was later featured as one of the Top 10 paid apps on the Mac App Store in January 2013.

I investigated Node.js for a potential project several years ago. I found the resources were very scattered (at the time) and it was difficult to separate fact from fiction, so I wrote this whitepaper to organize the information in a more cohesive manner. I'm working on version 2.0 of this at the moment.

﻿﻿On July 9, 2013 I wrote a blog article for TopTal called "How to Work Remotely and Still Be the Best", in which I talked about my tools and techniques for working remotely. I was fortunate enough for this article to be picked up and republished on Lifehacker.

Ruby on Rails/Spree eCommerce (Development)

(Now defunct) Featured on Ars Technica on December 27, 2011. Integrated the Spree eCommerce Ruby on Rails store with a telephony app that lets users send recorded voice messages (via robocall) to select politicians or groups.

The Many Interpreters and Runtimes of the Ruby Programming Language (Publication)

Which Ruby implementation is right for your project? While the reference implementation (Ruby MRI) remains the interpreter of choice, an alternate Ruby implementation may be right for your project, depending on your operational goals and constraints.
This article showcases the Ruby interpreter implementations and runtimes available today, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Testing. It always seems to get left to the last minute, then cut because you're out of time, budget, or whatever else. Management wonders why developers can't just "get it right the first time", and developers (especially on large systems) can be taken off-guard when different stakeholders describe different parts of the system.
With behavior-driven development, you can turn testing into a shared process that focuses on the behaviors of the system, why they matter, and who cares.

Starting a new remote gig, be it a contract project or a full-time job, can be a little intimidating if you're used to going into an office day after day.
But this style of employment is growing in popularity, with some very notable companies lending it their endorsements.
I've worked remotely for years now on projects of various scales and durations. With this post, I hope to enumerate some of the best practices that I've picked up for working in a variety of situations. The advice here ranges from specific recommendations for software and hardware, to tips for hitting your team's deadlines.

Ryan is a mentor in the Toptal Global Mentor’s Program.
This program is a partnership between Toptal and General Assembly to provide high
quality mentorship for students from minority and low income backgrounds who are
looking to begin their careers as professional software engineers. Ryan
shows commitment to diversity in tech by mentoring a General Assembly student every
week for a year, covering everything from coding tips and tricks to advice on making
it in the industry.